The Transformation Of Global Normative Structure And Building A New Model Of Major Power Relations Between China And The U.S.

In recent years,China's rise has sparked a hot debate about how China and the U.S.can achieve peaceful coexistence and avoid the so-called "Thucydides's Trap".In view of that,China puts forward the concept of“a new model of major power relations"which is often questioned by the U.S.and is thought to be an empty slogan without any substantial content and concrete path to achieve it.These doubts and skepticism reflect the reality of lack of strategic mutual trust between China and the U.S.In fact,the strategic distrust between China and the U.S.has become a key factor preventing them from constructing a new model of major power relations.Two main reasons may lay behind such strategic distrust.The first is "security dilemma" caused by changes in power distribution in international system,which has been discussed widely in the academic circles.The second relatively overlooked reason is the ideational difference between China and the U.S.At the present,discussions about the ideational differences between China and the U.S.often focus on the factors at national level,such as the political system and the ideology.However,this paper proposes that the essential reason behind the ideational differences between the two great powers lies in the global normative structure,which reflects the long-term challenges and tensions between China and the western-led international society.The global normative structure has evolved from the "standard of civilization" in the 19th century to the "new standard of civilization" in the 20th century,within which,China has often been in a defensive position,which this paper believes as one of the key reasons why China and the U.S.are facing so many challenges in building a new model of major power relations.Fortunately,since the 21st century,with the rise of the non-western countries and the expansion of non-traditional security threats,global international society is undergoing a new round of transformation.This transformation includes not only changes in material power,but also contains shifts in normative orientations,most notably the idea of environmental stewardship has emerged and institutionalized as a primary institution.Environmental norm can converge the ideational division between the East and the West,and thus provides new opportunities for China to cooperate the U.S.and with wider actors in global international society.Under such circumstance,only if China and the U.S.build up a new model of major power relations that features win-win cooperation can they meet the demands of global normative transformation.In view of that,this paper takes the Sino-US climate cooperation since the Obama administration as an example to manifest that the "new model of major power relations" proposed by China is exactly catering to the transformation of global normative structure,and at the same time it is not an empty slogan because the global normative transformation has provided a concrete path for operating it.Furthermore,China and the U.S.should actively participate in constructing the norm of environmental stewardship through cooperation,which does not only help them to become the contributors and leaders of global normative transformation,but also lays the foundations for them to move to the community of shard future.